New York: The Southern City
by Invited-Gatecrasher
Summary: Dallas Winston returns to his hometown for a visit, he did not expect to find his sister lost in the big city.
1. Homewood bound

When Grand Central Terminal was cleaned after it had been blackened by smoke a small square of grime was left on the ceiling to remind New Yorker's of how dirty the city used to be; a tall lanky figure stared up at the patch and smirked; the Big Apple was about to get a whole lot blacker – Dallas Winston had returned.

The blond flipped up his collar as he left the station and lit a cigarette, he looked around, getting his bearings. He began to walk, knowing he was taking the long way to his destination but favouring it to take in the sites. Plus, he was wise enough to realise that the back streets he had once known would have changed in seven years, and he did not want any trouble on his first day back.

Dallas walked for over forty minutes, noticing more of a strut in his step; New York licensed him a lot more attitude, and that was saying something because if there was one thing the 19 year old had, it was attitude.

Dally athletically handled the three flights of stairs in an apartment building, taking two at a time. The building was run down: the stairs were knackered and the door he knocked upon was the shabbiest of all the doors on that floor, he knocked a knock he hadn't performed for years; three bangs followed by three quicker, lighter knocks. He didn't know if the people inside would still recognise it, but he did it for tradition's sake.

A worse-kept version of Dallas opened the door, scratching his head; he was more built but less attractive.

"Dally?" He yawned, startled.

"The one and only." Dallas grinned walking into the spacious apartment. He looked around; it was exactly as it was when he left, if not tidier (Dally always had been the messy one).

"Dallas?" the guy said, still not believing who had just walked through his door. He finally accepted he wasn't dreaming; Dallas always was unpredictable. "Din't know you were back."

"I know: I didn't tell you" Dally stated obviously. "What _you_ doing here, Jake?"

"I live here now…"

"If you're in my room ya better get out…"

"I'm in your parents' room. Jesus, Dally don't start jumping down people's throats already! Your room is still your own, except you get the odd waster staying in there, too wasted to go home." Jake always did get annoyed at how his cousin never let anyone finish a sentence, even though he knew he was bad for the habit himself.

"Are Harriet and Curby still here?" Dallas asked after his younger siblings as he sat on the couch, wondering if they had moved on when his parents did.

"Yup, Harriet is still in school and Curby is just Curby; a 15 year old version of us. They can't stand each other, I'd like it if while you were here you sorted them out – they do my head in! How long are you here for?"

"Just visiting." Dally said lighting a cigarette and tossing the packet towards Jake, who copied the action. "Few weeks, a month maybe. Why'd they hate each other?"

"Oh well, it's just an extreme version of sibling hatred, Curby takes it too far though. See your sister, she's quite down, you know? Like depressed. And Curby knows this and acts on it. He can tell when she's in a bad way and he'll toy with her, tell her to kill herself and shit and when she's at her worst she'll just crumble, right in front of him. He's meaner to her than we are to our worst enemies. Don't get me wrong, she can give as good as she gets, but I think everything he does or says to her sticks with her, and that ain't a good thing; lord knows what goes on in her head".

Dallas was thoughtful; he had known his brother would grow up to be like him and did not mind this at all, but Dallas would never treat his sister badly, that's just wrong. "So she's screwed up?"

"Oh yeah, Dal; big time. She cuts herself and all sorts. She broke up with her boyfriend a while back, even though he was a pretty decent guy, and this is where it's all come from, I reckon."

Dallas took a deep breath, sad for his sister; he had always had a soft spot for her, what with her being younger, and hell, she was his only sister. He was always indifferent to his brother though; he just saw him as another irritating guy; he considered Jake as more of a brother, they were close in age and had always had an understanding.

"Why din't you try to sort them out?" Dally asked sternly, looking to place blame on someone.

Jake merely raised an eyebrow, "I'll let you see first hand how difficult it is to control those two."

Jake and Dallas hung out for the next two hours, catching up on old times, until Jake had to leave for his bar job. Dallas wondered what he could do to amuse himself: let his old gang know he was back? Find a New York broad to show him a good time? His sister answered his question by walking through the door. Dally stared at her, smiling.

"Dallas!" She shrieked dropping her bag and running into his arms. "When did you get back? Why didn't you tell me?"

Dallas chuckled and told her he wanted it to be a surprise. He stepped back to look at his sister; she was not the ten year old he had last seen. She was now nearly as tall as Dallas; with darker hair and the same blue eyes. When smiling her eyes were warm, but a false warm, it was obvious she was hiding something.

Harriet began to cook her brother some dinner as he watched the small television. "Harri?" He called her over, "Look, I'm just gonna come out and say this… Jake told me about you being down and hurting yourself and I want to stop it all." She looked away ashamedly, he grabbed her hand for reassurance, "And I ain't made at you. First I wanna know why you're so down, and second what the hell is going on with you and Curby?"

Harriet chose not to answer the first question, not knowing where to begin and how much to divulge. "Me and Curby never got on, you know that." She saw by Dally's expression that he wanted a lot more detail. "He's just nasty, he…" she sobbed but tried to continue, "He just taunts me, Dally! He beats me; on Tuesday he set me up to get beaten by another gang, and would've let them had one of my friends not interfered. He just hates me. I hate him to, but only because of what he does to me."

Dallas could see the pain in her eyes, it reminded him of the only other person he loved; it was the lost puppy look that was the closest thing to ever melt Dally's icy heart. He hugged his sister and made a decision; it was time to take charge of his family, and let his brother know what's what.


	2. Look After Your Own

Dallas was in a bad mood. He had sat with his sobbing sister late into the evening, listening to the horrifying things his brother Curby had inflicted upon her. She had slowly drifted off to sleep, crying, and Dallas had moved her to her bedroom.

He was sat in the dark, unaware it had gotten dim, he was too angry to care. The moonlight shot through the window and landed upon his tense figure as he cracked his knuckles impatiently. The rest of the worn down apartment was in darkness, shadows cast upon the walls made the scene seem very intense, and it suited Dally's mood perfectly.

Unaware of what time it was Dallas had waited in the darkness for hours, and at around 3am he heard a key searching unsuccessfully at the keyhole. He listened intently and heard drunken slurs of annoyance at the other side of the door. He walked with purpose and swung the door open, revealing his soused brother trying to put his key in the door.

Curby looked up confused at who was standing before him, 'Jake?' he queried.

'Guess again little bro' Dallas said wolfishly. Curby was unaware of the meaning behind the grin on Dally's face. Those who knew him better knew to be scared of that grin, it was not a happy grin, it was sadistic; it was the smile Dallas had when he was about to enjoy inflicting pain.

'Dallas!' Curby exclaimed happily and drunkenly wrestled his brother into a bear hug. Dallas sized up his younger brother; he was shorter and skinnier than Dally but they had the same cocky and confident arrogance about them.

Dallas had never realised just how much his brother hero worshipped him. Although it had been years since the pair had last seen each other Curby rarely went a day without hearing of his brothers street credentials, he was told of the muggings his brother had performed at an early age, the fights he had won against guys twice his size and so on. Since Dallas left for Tulsa the stories continued, most were merely rumours with no truth behind them, as Dallas rarely kept his old friends updated on what he was up to, unless he needed something from them. But many mirrored real life unknowingly: Dally was indeed a hit with the ladies, his wit winning him beautiful girls, his charm stealing them from other guys. And he had become more ruthless and more vicious. His muggings were more heartless, his beatings more undeserving and severe. Most would shake their heads at the idea of such a person, but Curby Winston was in awe, he wanted to emulate everything about his brother: he wanted the reputation, the women and the fun. Curby was by no means weak, he, just like Dallas liked fights, saw no wrong in mugging innocent people to attain things he wanted and took pleasure in other people's pain. But he had never reached the same infamous status as Dally, there were others feared more, others respected more, and others lusted after more. The first thing Curby thought when he saw his brother had return was that they could unite, and his life would be as good as his brothers. Dallas had other thoughts entirely.

'What are you doing here Dallas?!' Curby slurred as he stumbled into the house. He searched the kitchen for alcohol and found a bottle of vodka that he took over to the couch with him. Dallas followed slowly but did not sit down.

'Thought I'd come back for some good times, Curbs. You know how it is, meet some new broads, see some old friends, and drink in a different place for a change.'

'Yeah man, cool!' Curby replied enthusiastically, his excitement of his brothers return growing, 'I'll show you all the new hot spots, Dal… introduce you to some hot girls, have them show you a good time'.

'Don't really think I need to rely on my little brothers help for that' Dallas bit.

Curly panicked, not wanting to anger his idol, No man, I'm not saying you do, just saying we should hit the town together, you know; the Winston brothers tearing up the place!'

'I said I _thought_ that's why I would come back… but things change don't they?' Dallas said as he slowly paced the room, had Curby have been sober he would have realised how menacing this was.

'What d'you mean?' he slurred naively.

Dally lost his cool, 'I mean I thought I'd come back here and have a good care free time, Curby! But as soon as I got here and saw what a state my baby sis was in I realised I wouldn't be able to have fun until I found the person responsible for putting her through this!'

Curby cursed under his breath as two emotions shot through his body, sobering him up somewhat. Firstly he was scared; he knew Dallas could whip him and in his drunken state he wouldn't be able to fight back nearly half as well as he could when sober. Secondly, he felt a serge of hatred for his sister. She had wrapped Dallas around her finger, in the same way she had everyone else in their lives. No one saw her for the conniving little bitch Curby knew her as. They hated each other and were constantly at each others throats but everyone always seemed to think he was worse to her than she was to him. They were wrong, Curby thought, and now Harriet had tried to destroy his relationship with their brother; lord he hated her!

Curby decided the best course of action would be to try to brush it all under the carpet, 'Dally man, as if you're gonna believe all the shit that comes outta her mouth! She talks bull! She's just trying to get you on side man!'

Dallas said nothing as he clenched his fists. Curby panicked as he realised nothing he could do would stop Dallas from attacking him. He stood uncertainly, too drunk and scared to know exactly what to do. 'Look Dallas, be reasonable, you ain't been here for a while, you dunno what she's like dude!'

Again Dallas remained silent and walked closer towards his brother. He sighed, 'Curby, you gotta look after your own, you shoulda known that'. There was a smash of glass as the bottle of vodka Curby was holding hit the floor and Dallas took his first swing.


	3. What Happened Next

Although Curby knew the punch was coming, he wasn't prepared for it. When Dally's fist made contact it threw Curby back onto the couch. Before the drunk could focus Dallas had pounced again, kicking manically and without target, he merely wanted to impose pain upon his younger brother.

Curby found the strength to push Dallas off; he pinned him down and started slugging his idol. Dally struggled to fight back, lying on the shattered glass from the broken vodka bottle.

'You need to be taught a lesson' Dallas growled as he threw Curby sideways and stood to kick him again.

The noise woke Harriet sharply. She had no idea what was going on but knew from experience that there was violence occurring in her apartment. She ran unsteadily to her door and flung it open. She lunged at the standing figuring and pried him away from his victim, still unaware of who she was separating. 'Dallas!' she shrieked as she realised the bloody face belonged to her brother, 'What's going on?!' Harriet spun round to see her other sibling scrambling up off the floor. 'I might have known' she spat viciously.

'This is your fault, bitch. You've been spreading bull again!' Curby said as he regained his balance.

Dallas took a deep breath and started pacing, trying to shake off his anger. He wished Harriet hadn't stop him from beating up their brother he deserved it after what his sister had told him. Just a few hours earlier Harriet had told Dallas how her brother had told her boyfriend that she had cheated on him, and that this was completely untrue, she had said that he had stolen off _her_ friends and placed the blame on Harriet, in an attempt to turn them against her, she had told of the rumours Curby had spread to make rival gangs attack her, and she had confessed that she did indeed self harm to cope with all the problems in her life, and told Dallas that Curby left knives and scissors in her bedroom, along with notes telling her to take her own life for the good of everyone else around her. Although Dallas Winston could never honestly say he loved any member of his family, he was now sure he hated his brother.

'How could you have treated her like this, Curby?! She's you're sister, you're meant to be protecting her! I thought you be screening the guys she dates to see if they're good enough, making sure she din't get into any trouble, it didn't expect this crap!' Dallas flung himself onto a wooden chair, suddenly realising how tired he was and how long it had been since he last slept.

'Dally man, you ain't gonna believe that broad's nonsense are you?!' Curby pleaded as he settled on the couch, a fair distance away from Dallas. 'Yeah me and her don't get on but it's not like she doesn't try to mess with me; it's fair game bro'.

'So stay away from her or you leave this place' Dally said simply, if he couldn't fight his brother physically he was not interested in a war of words. 'I'm off to bed. Harriet, get to your room, and Curby I don't care where the hell you go but don't bother her, ya hear me? And stay away from me while I'm here or I can't promise what I'll do'.

Dallas and Harriet retired to their rooms leaving Curby alone in the darkness. He cursed under his breath. He hated his sister for ruining his relationship with his brother. And from that moment on, he hated Dally too; he wasn't going to beg for his brothers' approval or friendship, this was enough. Curby hated both of his siblings and vowed there and then to take revenge. He yawned and rubbed one of his ribs that Dally had busted and then fell asleep in his upright position of the couch.

A few days past and Curby had stayed out of both Dally and Harriet's paths, as ordered. Dally had spent most of his time with his sister, developing a relationship he had never considered having with a family member. They talked, about their parents, Harriet's problems and Tulsa, and they goofed around like they hadn't been separated for all those years. He spent time with his cousin and his old gang, who were wilder and colder than when Dally had last been friends with them. He was pleased to see them but he finally understood the difference between gangs and groups of friends; this gang, and other gangs like Tim Shepard's outfit were organised and formal, which meant they had less fun and trusted each other less, each one of them would turn on the other one to save their own necks. But Dally's friends in Tulsa were just that: friends. They mucked around and mouthed off to each other without fearing the repercussions; it was a better way to live.

Dallas planned a party for the following weekend, craving a good old fashioned New York gathering, only this time it would be better as he was older and could enjoy it more.

Curby found out about the party when asked about it by some guys he was hanging out with. It enraged him that he knew nothing about it and that Dallas was taking over the house like he had never been away. Well he had been away, it wasn't his apartment anymore and he didn't control Curby Winston, who decided that that night would be the perfect backdrop for his revenge…


End file.
